Minor things that bother you

[kkt]

Regarding the southbound I-5 exit at Union Street - part of the problem that you can't see from the video is that it's a blind corner.  I believe they improved the signage within the past few years to emphasize the low advisory speed.  I've taken that exit fair number of times, and the only time it was a problem was when there was a collision just around the blind corner.  I stopped in time to avoid it, not everyone would have...

[SSOWorld]

I'm pretty sure he did not contest it.  He had a demanding schedule and spending hours of a workday at traffic court would have been a nonstarter.  Pity.

It happened once to my mom. She had planned to contest it with the rationale that there's a way to get to that spot without passing by a speed limit 30 sign. (She doesn't know yellow signs aren't enforceable to begin with.) When she got to court, the police officer didn't even show up, so she won by default.

MA?  I know they got slapped hard in court over the issue and ended up changing most (all?) advisory signs in the state to regulatory ones so they could keep issuing tickets.  It's the reason why speed limits in MA bounce up and down so much.

MA and ME are also the two states I've seen that post regulatory speed limits on interchange ramps, which is VERY annoying.

@vdeane technically, they can if they have signs saying they do - such as in Texas for construction zones

Aren't work zone speed limits usually regulatory and not advisory?  Or is there something weird with how Texas does things?

A sign on a ramp is advisory.  This law makes it regulatory within a work zone

[vdeane]

This was an exit ramp. Those haven't been switched over yet, at least that I've noticed.

Unfortunately, at least one has.

[formulanone]

When web sites give you an error message before you've even typed anything.

I've had something similar. "Type in your email address"

Me: f (...still typing)

* please use a valid format!

But, but...

[Rothman]

This was an exit ramp. Those haven't been switched over yet, at least that I've noticed.

Unfortunately, at least one has.

*rage rises*

[webny99]

Unfortunately, at least one has.

*rage rises*

To the thread topic, electronic "YOUR SPEED" signs are very much a minor thing that bothers me, especially when they flash with "SLOW DOWN" at exactly the speed limit or higher. They're needlessly disruptive to traffic flow, cause unnecessary braking (why on earth some people intentionally brake for them is beyond me), and falsely implicate an imminent hazard/problem when none exists, much like the boy that cried wolf.

I would much rather this type of flashing sign be permanently installed at real-world potential hazard locations, like in advance of rail crossings and roads prone to flooding, where they can be actuated as needed.

[jeffandnicole]

Unfortunately, at least one has.

*rage rises*

To the thread topic, electronic "YOUR SPEED" signs are very much a minor thing that bothers me, especially when they flash with "SLOW DOWN" at exactly the speed limit or higher. They're needlessly disruptive to traffic flow, cause unnecessary braking (why on earth some people intentionally brake for them is beyond me), and falsely implicate an imminent hazard/problem when none exists, much like the boy that cried wolf.

I would much rather this type of flashing sign be permanently installed at real-world potential hazard locations, like in advance of rail crossings and roads prone to flooding, where they can be actuated as needed.

I'll notice the hitting the brake issue when the sign is first put out. After several days, most motorists have become accustomed to the sign and continue to speed by it, or slow down minimally. 

[kurumi]

To the thread topic, electronic "YOUR SPEED" signs are very much a minor thing that bothers me, especially when they flash with "SLOW DOWN" at exactly the speed limit or higher.

Every car I've driven has a device showing that information, at all times, right in the dash. I have to believe most vehicles have one by now

[vdeane]

To the thread topic, electronic "YOUR SPEED" signs are very much a minor thing that bothers me, especially when they flash with "SLOW DOWN" at exactly the speed limit or higher. They're needlessly disruptive to traffic flow, cause unnecessary braking (why on earth some people intentionally brake for them is beyond me), and falsely implicate an imminent hazard/problem when none exists, much like the boy that cried wolf.

I would much rather this type of flashing sign be permanently installed at real-world potential hazard locations, like in advance of rail crossings and roads prone to flooding, where they can be actuated as needed.

I assume people assume that anything identifying their speed might give them a ticket, at least until they get used to it.  Maybe cars with radar detectors instinctively reacting before they realize that it's just the "your speed" sign.  As for the "slow down" message, that's because people were speeding up to see how high a number they could get to appear on the sign, making the signs do the opposite of what they're supposed to.

[jeffandnicole]

On one of our local roads, the speed flashes when you go by it...Regardless of the speed.  Limit is 25 mph.  I went by at 17 mph to test this out, and yep, still flashing the speed. 

[mgk920]

Or when I tiny piece of debris or oxide appears on the contact surfaces of your computer's mouse button, causing it to 'double click' when you only wanted a single click.

Mike

[1995hoo]

To the thread topic, electronic "YOUR SPEED" signs are very much a minor thing that bothers me, especially when they flash with "SLOW DOWN" at exactly the speed limit or higher.

Every car I've driven has a device showing that information, at all times, right in the dash. I have to believe most vehicles have one by now

No car I've ever driven has ever flashed "slow down" at me, no matter how far over the speed limit I was.

[JayhawkCO]

Today as I was driving, all of a sudden my check engine, slip, and emergency brake lights all came on at once. I checked my brakes to make sure they were working fine, and they were. But still pulled over soon thereafter to see what was wrong. Some quick Googling shows that all of those lights come in if a brake light is out. It seems that having that many alerts is pretty alarming for such a simple fix. Couldn't they have a "light out" indicator instead of freaking me out that I was going to have to tuck and roll?

[kkt]

Today as I was driving, all of a sudden my check engine, slip, and emergency brake lights all came on at once. I checked my brakes to make sure they were working fine, and they were. But still pulled over soon thereafter to see what was wrong. Some quick Googling shows that all of those lights come in if a brake light is out. It seems that having that many alerts is pretty alarming for such a simple fix. Couldn't they have a "light out" indicator instead of freaking me out that I was going to have to tuck and roll?

Yes.  That could easily freak out a driver into pulling over in a not quite safe spot.

[formulanone]

Today as I was driving, all of a sudden my check engine, slip, and emergency brake lights all came on at once. I checked my brakes to make sure they were working fine, and they were. But still pulled over soon thereafter to see what was wrong. Some quick Googling shows that all of those lights come in if a brake light is out. It seems that having that many alerts is pretty alarming for such a simple fix. Couldn't they have a "light out" indicator instead of freaking me out that I was going to have to tuck and roll?

Sometimes one failure has a domino effect on others. Systems are more interconnected due to safety warnings, so sometimes one failure overreacts the others. Brake light bulb out seems a little bit of an overreaction...

Stop lamp switches, on the other hand, are notorious for sending all sorts of errors. They're not expensive parts and usually not difficult to replace, but they trick a lot of systems all at once. After all, there's a bad response from the (working) brake pedal, but the switch it engages throws off the ABS for excessive current, which in turn sends a message to traction control, and since that's trying to enable/disable at unexpected times, the check engine light likes to stay on. And if that switch is bad, the brake lights stay on at all times (even when ignition is off and keys out of cylinder/range) which depletes the battery (but alternatively, a very easy diagnosis). Or the vehicle's engine control module sees all of these devices with warnings and decides to stop the car or outright prevent start-up.

Google your vehicle, there's typically groups discussing normal from abnormal.

[JayhawkCO]

Today as I was driving, all of a sudden my check engine, slip, and emergency brake lights all came on at once. I checked my brakes to make sure they were working fine, and they were. But still pulled over soon thereafter to see what was wrong. Some quick Googling shows that all of those lights come in if a brake light is out. It seems that having that many alerts is pretty alarming for such a simple fix. Couldn't they have a "light out" indicator instead of freaking me out that I was going to have to tuck and roll?

Sometimes one failure has a domino effect on others. Systems are more interconnected due to safety warnings, so sometimes one failure overreacts the others. Brake light bulb out seems a little bit of an overreaction...

Stop lamp switches, on the other hand, are notorious for sending all sorts of errors. They're not expensive parts and usually not difficult to replace, but they trick a lot of systems all at once. After all, there's a bad response from the (working) brake pedal, but the switch it engages throws off the ABS for excessive current, which in turn sends a message to traction control, and since that's trying to enable/disable at unexpected times, the check engine light likes to stay on. And if that switch is bad, the brake lights stay on at all times (even when ignition is off and keys out of cylinder/range) which depletes the battery (but alternatively, a very easy diagnosis). Or the vehicle's engine control module sees all of these devices with warnings and decides to stop the car or outright prevent start-up.

Google your vehicle, there's typically groups discussing normal from abnormal.

Well, my Amazon-ordered brake lights come in tomorrow, so if that doesn't fix it, to the shop it goes!

[roadman65]

When someone who is middle aged listens to the same popular music genres as teenagers and adolescents and crank their car stereos up.

[JayhawkCO]

When someone who is middle aged listens to the same popular music genres as teenagers and adolescents and crank their car stereos up.

Is there a genre that is popular now that wasn't also popular when this middle aged guy was a teenager? I listened to rap/hip-hop then, I can listen to the same thing now.

[thspfc]

Gatekeepers and elitists of MUSIC 

[Rothman]

When someone who is middle aged listens to the same popular music genres as teenagers and adolescents and crank their car stereos up.

Why?  I prefer doing this to show the kids their music sucks.

[CtrlAltDel]

When someone who is middle aged listens to the same popular music genres as teenagers and adolescents

This I don't care about one way or the other.

and crank their car stereos up.

This I do. In the ordinary course of things, I shouldn't be able to hear other people's music.

[jeffandnicole]

Green Day anyone?

Or The Presidents of the United States of America?  https://youtu.be/xjwkXYB4nHs?si=orvf1GsKU4-xuGGr

[1995hoo]

When someone who is middle aged listens to the same popular music genres as teenagers and adolescents and crank their car stereos up.

Perhaps some of those people are parents who heard their kids playing something and found they liked it. (I'm not saying that from experience.)

[ZLoth]

In the ordinary course of things, I shouldn't be able to hear other people's music.

If I can understand the music that you are playing, and you have headphones on, you just might have the volume up too loud. Then again, I may want to invest in companies that do hearing aids.

[mgk920]

It might just be my personal tastes and age at play here, but I find tumping hard core 'gangsta' (c)rap in neighboring cars to be royally annoying.

Mike